My dad's credit card got a $300 charge from a 'free' AOL trial in 1997

I signed up for that free AOL disk they mailed to our house, the one with 100 hours free. I didn't read the fine print that said it would auto renew. After the trial, they just kept billing the card on file for months. My dad saw it on the statement and was so mad. I had to mow lawns all summer to pay him back. Did anyone else's family get hit with surprise charges like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

robert2752mo agoTop Commenter

Oh man, that AOL disk got so many of us.

cameron7702mo agoMost Upvoted

Wait, did you actually pay for AOL? I just used the free hours and kept making new accounts.

blair_davis507d ago

Remember getting those AOL disks in the mail, the ones with the free hours printed right on the envelope. I always felt bad tossing them, like I was throwing away perfectly good computer time. My neighbor saved a stack of them and used them as coasters for his coffee cups, said they were the perfect size. He kept a few in his car too, for scraping ice off the windshield. Kind of funny to think those free trial disks ended up having more uses than just getting online.